The Week That Was…

Published 8:00 pm, Sunday, October 23, 2005

These are just a few of my thoughts on what has happened at the local level of sports during the past week.

For the record…

…As many of you know, I've been blessed to live out a dream of working on the radio doing Let's Talk Sports with Justin Shepherd and Tom Devitt the last two years on 92.1 FM in Caro.

It's an experience I wouldn't trade for anything, but due to unfortunate circumstances beyond our control, it will no longer continue.

During Friday's Post Game show, I was delivering my final call but was cut off.

So, here's what I was going to say.

I would just like to thank the fine people at 92.1, including Justin and Tom for allowing an avid sports fan like myself to have an opportunity to get my voice heard.

It was an experience I'm so thankful for  and will miss doing.

Without 92.1, I wouldn't have met two people that I can now call friends  and that's what I'm thankful for the most.

Playoffs picture is complete…

…Finally, the guessing game is done  and we finally know who's in and who's out of the 2005 Michigan High School Athletic Association playoffs.

This has to be the five best weeks out of the high school sports season  and the Thumb will have plenty of representation.

The Greater Thumb Conference has over half of its teams in the post-season, including defending Division 7 state champion Unionville-Sebewaing Area, 2004 Division 6 semifinalist Reese, Bay City All Saints, Cass City, Deckerville, Ubly, Marlette, and Harbor Beach.

Beginning with Division 7, it will feature Memphis and USA in a rematch of last year's first round game. The other side of that district will have a Week 6 rematch of Ubly at Deckerville.

In Division 6, Reese will host St. Charles while on the other side of that bracket Marlette makes its first-ever playoff appearance, hosting a very confident Harbor Beach team.

Division 5 will see Cass City travel to Essexville-Garber in a very interesting game for the Red Hawks while Bay City All Saints will play at Kingston in Division 8.

The GTC has had a string of tremendous success in the playoffs, putting teams in the semifinals all but one year since 1998.

This year should be no different as many of these teams representing the conference are capable of long drives once again.

Take Harbor Beach, for example, At 5-4, this is not a team that can be taken lightly. The Pirates pushed USA to the limit on Friday before falling 21-20 in the game of the year so far.

If they can put that kind of effort together for an entire game, I see them capable off beating just about any team they meet.

Of course, there's USA, which will surely respond from the wake-up call it received from Harbor Beach.

I still believe the Patriots can repeat  and will use a close game like that for motivation in the playoffs.

BCAS is another team that can do some damage.

The Cougars play in what has to be considered one of the toughest Class C leagues in the state, which should have them prepared for most Division 8 teams.

Reese also has the experience of going to the Division 6 semifinals last year. And after talking to coach Bob Saylor after his team's win over Cass City a couple of weeks ago, his team is determined to improve on that effort.

Like I said, these next five weeks are some of the busiest for us, but some of the most rewarding, as well. And we here at the Tribune can't wait for it.

Wild, Wild East?

…I've never seen a girls basketball division more competitive this late in the season like the GTE has become.

In all, five teams are still vying for a piece of the title, including Marlette at 6-1, and Ubly, Brown City, Sandusky, and Harbor Beach, all at 4-3.

The Red Raiders have many of their remaining games on the road while Ubly hosts every team on this list (except for Sandusky) at home before the end of the season.

Harbor Beach has become the wild card in this mix.

After a 2-7 start to the season, the Pirates have recovered to win their last five games to climb back into the GTE picture.

Perhaps no win was bigger than their come-from-behind 50-46 decision over Brown City on Thursday.

Harbor Beach has a championship tradition and a coach in Marilee Schock who seems to get the best out of her players every season. There's no doubt the Pirates will be in this until the end.

One busy week…

…On top of the football playoffs, we also have a full slate of soccer districts, along with cross country regionals on Saturday.

Not to mention, the girls basketball season is in the home stretch.

However, you'll hear no complaints out of me, because there's nothing like seeing all the hard work from all of the Thumb's athletes finally pay off.

Performance of the Week…

…Luke Linn's return to quarterback was an impressive one for Harbor Beach.

Linn injured his left hand in a Week 3 game against Ubly  and has been unable to play QB since

His impact was felt by USA on Friday as Linn turned in perhaps the finest game of his career, going 16-of-20 with 237 yards and three touchdowns.

Most of his numbers were put up during the second half of Harbor Beach's near comeback win.

With Linn and the offense now clicking, the 5-4 Pirates are going to be a force in this year's playoffs.

Game of the Week…

…I thought USA's game with Harbor Beach was just going to be another in the now 23-game winning streak for the Patriots.

And for a time it looked like it as USA led 21-0 at the half.

But a few adjustments on both sides of the ball sparked a furious comeback that fell just short for Harbor Beach.

I think the game will work as a positive for both teams.

It may have just been what USA needed to get refocused as it eyes another state title while it showed the Pirates that they are capable of playing great football.

Now, it's just a matter of doing it for four quarters.

Now Playing:

It's early in the sports year, but this is my leading candidate for Game of the Year.

Paul P. Adams is a sports writer for the Huron Daily Tribune and can be reached at (989) 269-6464 ext. 112 or padams@hearstnp.com. The Week That Was appears every Monday and Thursday.